China's Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft returns to Earth

Shenzhou-11 was China's sixth and longest manned space mission.

Shenzhou-11 has landed in the Inner Mangolia region of China. [Representational Image] In Picture: Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng (L) and Chen Dong wave in front of a Chinese national flag before the launch of Shenzhou-11 manned spacecraft, in Jiuquan, China, 17 October 2016.Reuters

Two astronauts on China's Shenzhou-11 mission to space returned safely to Earth on Friday. The landing took place in Inner Mongolia.

It was China's longest manned space mission as astronauts or 'taikonauts' Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong spent 30 days in orbit. The re-entry module landed as scheduled at around 2 pm, Efe news reported.

Shenzhou-11 had docked at China's Tiangong-2 space laboratory two days after departure on October 17. On Thursday, it separated from the space lab for the journey back to Earth.

Chinese state television CCTV aired the event live.

Tiangong-2 space laboratory is crucial for China to eventually launch a space station into orbit. The Chinese government has plans to have a 20-tonne space station before 2024. This is when International Space Station is scheduled to be retried, Xinhua reported.

China also has plans to land a robotic rover in Mars and is planning for a manned mission to moon.